Reenforced split d handle



c. J. WELSH REENF'ORCED SPLIT D-HANDLE Dec. 11, 1923. 1,477,092

' Filed Feb. 13, 1922 Patented Dec. 11, 1923. i

NT FFl-C CHESTER T. WELSH, OF CONNEAUT, OHIO.

REENFOBCED SPLIT D HANDLE.

Application filed February 13, 1982. Serial No. 536,182.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHESTER J. WELSH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Gonneaut, in the county of Ashtabula 'and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Reenforced Split DHandles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to handles for shovels, spades and other likeimplements and more particularl to handles commonly known as split D-andles wherein the upper end portion of the shaft or stem is bifurcatedto form two diver 'ng arms between which, at the up er ends t ereof, isinserted the grip bar for tl fe hand of the user.

An object of the present invention is to reinforce a handle of this typein such manner as to provide the greatest possible rotection againstinjury to the handle, particularly to the arms of the shaft, thereenforcin 1 member constituting the subject matter 0 this inventionbeing of such construction that the handle will not necessarily berendered useless even though one of the arms should split.

Another object is to provide a reinforcing member that ma said arms.

A further object is to permanently secure the ip bar a ainst rotation onthe pin by whic it is hel between thearms.

Other ob'ects ,of the invention are to provide a rein orcement which iscomposed ofa minimum number of pieces, which 1s economical tomanufacture, and which will rigidly unite the parts of a wooden handle.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is an elevational view showing anembodiment of the preferred form of the invention;

Fi 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 isa detail view.

The wooden shaft or stem carrying the shovel, spade or other implement,is indicated at 10, its upper end portion being bifurcated forming thetwo arms 11, 12. The

7 arms 11, 12 diverge upwardly and a cross gri bar 13 is insertedbetween their upper en s, being held therein by a transverse 1pin 14ozother suitable fastening means of ike be secured on the gripbar and armswit out materially weakenmg nature, as will be more fully describedlater.

At a point just below the lower end of the bifurcation in the shaft 10,a rivet 15 extending transversely of the bifurcation is provided in theshaft to prevent splitting of-the latter.

The arms 11, 12 of the handle are each re enforced or strengthened by areinforcin member that is preferably made integra from sheet metal. Saidreinforcing members each comprise a ferrule or ring portion 16 adaptedto encircle the adjacent end ortion of grip-bar 13, the ends of thegriparbeing somewhat reduced in diameter to allow for the thickness of thematerial from which the reinforcing member is made whereby said rings orferrules will lie substantially flush with the intermediate portion ofthe bar. and resent a smooth surface for the hand of t e user.

The upper ends of arms 11, 12 tected by a ca are proportion 17 formedintegrally w1th the ring-portion 16, said cap 17 fitting over andencasing the upper ends of the arms. Extendin down from the ring and capportions 16, 1 are the reinforcing stri s proper, said strips, as shown,being in t e orm of s lit sleeves 18 practically surrounding the s aftarms 11, 12. Said strips or sleeves 18 extend down on both the inner andouter sides or faces of each arm, the vertical edges 19 of the split inthe respective sleeves coming in close proximity to each other on theinner face of the arms.

' The several arts described are securely and rigidly held together by ain'14, orrivet, extending through the grip ar, the arms, and the upperportions of the reinforcing members; and to prevent'the grip barrotating or turning on said pin, the ring portions of the reinforcingmembers are indented to form inwardly extending prongs 20 that projectinto the grip bar transversely of the grain of the material from whichsaid bar is made.

The reinforcing members ofthe present invention possess severaladvantages attributable directly to their novel construction, namely,the arms are reenforced from both their inner and outer sides or faces;the sleeves practically surround and encase the arms and if an armshould split it has been found that the reinforcing member is sufficientto withstand the strains under which the arm is normally laced; thesleeve extending around on t e inner face of the arm is suflicient toattach'the member, at its lower portion, to the arm thus eliminating thenecessity of forming a hole through the arm (thus greatly weakening thearm and in- 5 creasing the liability of its splitting) for the receptionof a rivet for securing the reenforcing member to the arm.

What is claimed is: A D-handle comprising a wooden shaft 10 bifurcatedadjacent its upper end to form diverging arms, a grip bar insertedbetween said arms, a reenforcing member for each arm comprising a ringportion fitting over the adjacent end of the grip bar, a cap'encasing-the upper end of the arm and a sleeve- 15 like portionextending down from said cap and ring and substantially surrounding theupper portion of the arm, and a pin passing throug the ip bar, arms andreinforcing members, sai arms andsleeves being imper- 2o forate betweensaid grip bar and the bottom of the bifurcation 1n the shaft, and saidsleeves having a smooth exterior surface.

CHESTER J. WELSH.

